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In a move that Republicans hope will raise the visibility of their difficult write-in campaign to hold resigned former Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s former House seat in the general election, Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry announced Tuesday that a special election to fill the final weeks of DeLay’s unexpired term will also appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The belated scheduling of the election to fill the 22nd District seat DeLay vacated on June 9 will enable Republican write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs to have a presence on the November ballot.

Sekula-Gibbs, a Houston city councilwoman who is the consensus choice of the Republican establishment to run for the seat, must rely on write-in votes for the general election because of a dire legal miscalculation by DeLay and the state Republican Party. But her name now will be presented to voters on the special election ballot.

Perry’s office made the announcement of the special election without fanfare nor further elaboration in a press release that also set special elections for two vacated state legislative seats.